In many surgical procedures, various blood vessels of tissue within the operating area are routinely coagulated during the surgical procedure by application of a high frequency electrical current. This technique is widely used and is usually carried forward by applying one electrical circuit connection to the patient's body and applying an additional electrical circuit connection to a conductive cauterizing probe or element. The electrical connections are coupled to a source of high frequency electrical energy through appropriate switching apparatus with the result that high frequency electrical current flows the probe into and through the patient's body when the probe is energized. The energy of the high frequency electrical current coagulates the blood vessels at the point of contact thereby sealing off blood flow. Despite the presence of coagulation equipment in most surgical procedures, a quantity of blood is found within the operative area which is typically removed by a suction device.
While virtually any shaped electrocautery device will provide coagulation, it has been found advantageous in many surgical procedures to utilize a blade-like probe sufficiently sharpened for incision and cutting while maintaining its conductive properties to be utilized as an electrocautery probe. The result is a surgical tool which is capable of cutting and cauterizing tissue during the surgical procedure.
In most surgical environments, it is highly desirable if not essential to avoid or at least minimize wasted moves and manipulation of instruments during surgical procedures. Thus, time spent by surgeons and their assistants in switching between operations of cutting, cauterizing and suctioning a surgical area should be avoided to the extent possible.
In attempting to meet the demanding needs of modern surgical procedures and efficiency, practitioners in the art have provided a variety of combination tools which combine one or more implements in a common tool package which provide capability for cutting, cauterizing and suctioning a surgical area. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,906,955 issued to Roberts sets forth a SURGICAL CAUTERIZING TOOL having suction means in which an elongated generally cylindrical housing supports a movable or extendable suction tube in proximity to a cauterizing blade. A slide button is movably supported upon the generally cylindrical housing and is coupled to the suction tube facilitating the retraction and extension of the suction tube relative to the cauterizing blade. In its anticipated use, a source of RF electrical energy is coupled to the cauterizing blade through a foot operated switch while a vacuum source is coupled to the suction tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,695 issued to Weber, Jr. et al. sets forth an EXTENDABLE ELECTROCAUTERY SURGICAL APPARATUS AND METHOD in which an elongated housing supports a generally cylindrical suction tube together with a slidably supported electrocautery blade movable with respect to the extended suction tube. A slide member is movably supported upon the housing of the tool and is coupled to the electrocautery blade to facilitate extension and retraction of the blade with respect to the extended end of the suction tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,234 issued to Graham sets forth a SYSTEM FOR USE WITH ELECTRO-SURGICAL PENCIL having an elongated generally cylindrical housing supporting a replaceable electrocautery blade and a plurality of parallelly spaced electrical connections to a source of RF electrical energy. A rocker switch element includes a plurality of metal contacts to provide electrical switching between the plurality of electrical connections and the electrocautery blade to vary the electrical energy applied to the blade.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,720 issued to Weber, Jr. sets forth an ELECTROCAUTERY APPARATUS AND METHOD AND MEANS FOR CLEANING THE SAME in which an elongated generally cylindrical housing supports a retractable electrocautery blade coupled to a movable slide switch. A suction passage is formed in the housing and is coupled to a vacuum source. A guide is supported upon the housing and closely spaced to the electrocautery blade to provide a cleaning and scraping action as the blade is drawn into the housing through the guide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,006 issued to Nottke sets forth ELECTROSURGICAL INSTRUMENT for providing an interface between an electrosurgical electrode and an electrosurgical generator. A hollow handle supports an electrode at one end and receives a three-wire cable through the opening in the other end. The wires of the cable are supported and positioned on a substantially flat insert which has three contact pins in electrical connection with the connectors. A conductor plate overlies the insert and is equipped with conductor strips for interconnecting the conductive pins.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,112,950 issued to Pike sets forth MEDICAL ELECTRONIC APPARATUS AND COMPONENTS. The apparatus includes a high frequency, high voltage generator, a therapeutic instrument, a compound electrical power and control cable connected therebetween and a switch for selectively connecting at least one signal current conductor in the cable to the instrument.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,780 issued to Morrison, Jr. sets forth a COMBINED ELECTROCOAGULATOR-SUCTION INSTRUMENT having an elongated body of electrically nonconductive material supporting a hollow generally cylindrical combination suction and cauterizing unit at one thereof. The remaining end of the instrument is coupled to source of electrical energy and vacuum to provide cauterizing and suction.
U.S. Pat. No. 15,195,959 issued to Smith sets forth an ELECTROSURGICAL DEVICE WITH SUCTION AND IRRIGATION which provides a disposable electrosurgical device which is useful in performing laparoscopic surgical procedures. The device includes both suction and irrigation capabilities in which the application of electrical current, the application of suction and the transmission of irrigation fluid to the surgical site can be conveniently regulated through control mechanisms contained within the surgical handpiece.
Thus, the prior art exemplifies past invention having certain superficial similarities to the present invention in that all have electrosurgery capabilities and some provide means for electrosurgery and fluid transfer. Unfortunately, all possess inherent limitations from an ergonomics and manufacturing engineering standpoint.
These limitations include, for example, the fact that the valves for suction or irrigation incorporate complex pistons and compression methods to conduct conduit collapsing which is complex, costly, and limits of performance due to kinking and clogging reliability due to complex springs and pistons. Additionally, many of the prior art utilize control of fluids from remote proximation in relation to the hand piece as an attached stop clock valve is used, being attached to its proximal end for fluid control, requiring major relocation of both hands required. Of the systems that utilize vent control of suction by a bleed hole, the bleed holes are normally located at twelve o'clock and only include foot control activation and activation of cut and cautery functions impeding precise activation of the electrosurgery current and causing fatigue for the surgeon's foot. Consequently, of the systems that provide bleed hole or control valve at any location, offer no method to control over the retraction deployment of a vacuum tube. Others utilize a suction regulation by means of an occluder taking two individuals to operate and is cumbersome. With the different instruments provided with retraction of blade or tube, there is no means to control over the retraction of the tube or blade and fluid control from the same module and location at one convenient step. There is no design that permits a suction control module built in the same element that additional controls over the deployment of the retraction, in addition to one convenient step.
While the foregoing devices have provided some measure of success in combining various functions of electrosurgical tools, they tend to be impractical or subject to substantial difficulty when manipulated by surgeons in the demanding environment of a surgical procedure. There remains, therefore, a continuing need in the art for evermore improved, easy to use, convenient and efficient multifunction electrocautery tools.